I also decided that I would use Routenote again to supply the album to all digital streaming services and stores.

I decided to self-release the album, since I didn’t wish to make physical copies and I guess I was a little sceptical of what a label might actually offer me besides physical production and distribution of the record.

I was convinced that this was the best model for the release and that it was ok to put the record on bandcamp on 30th January 2017, and allow the delayed release of 22nd February for Routenote to get the album to all stores and streaming services.

A few days after the release I started to reflect on the release and how I had approached this and began to realise that I have given no intensive for fans to buy the album in todays market.

Although I have not conducted any research, besides my observations of the music consumption behaviour of the students that I teach, i realise that bandcamp does not fit into the modern music consumption model. (At least not in the way I have used it). The reason for this is that releases can be fully streamed through the bandcamp browser without the upgrade to a Pro account which allows the owner to limit the amount of tracks which can be streamed.

I was reluctant to pay money just for this privileged and thought that a minimum of 3 streams per track per listen (the option if you don’t have bandcamp pro), was enough of a deterrent from listeners streaming (free) at their leisure before purchasing the album. When really, for some listeners, the ability to stream an album 3 times on a website they do not use is probably enough, or the lack of mobile accessibility deems the release forgettable.

It was this realisation which made me realise the power of streaming services. Having your music on Apple Music, Spotify or Tidal is actually more financially beneficial than a bandcamp release in the above format, for many reasons.

You are paid, if only a small amount, for every stream

Your album can easily be saved/stored/played offline on the go via a mobile app

Your album can be added to playlists alongside other artists of a similar style

Your album could be queued in stations on those streaming sites alongside other similar artists

Your album is mobile and can be listened to on the go via mobile devices.

….and there are probably many others….please comment on this post if you know any i have missed.

It’s an interesting philosophy,…when the music industry collapsed it was due to new technology. Studios closed due to the improvements in technology meaning that music could be produced more easily and with better results by artists, more music was therefore produced than ever before, and could be distributed online faster and in greater quantities.

The problem is, that while more music can now be made than ever before, the average persons wage has not increased in line with this. Therefore the general public can still only afford to buy the same amount of music as ever before, therefore it is in their interest to pay £10 per month for all the music they desire rather than restrict themselves to, lets say, one album per month for the same cost.

I am a big fan of new technology, our lives made easier, and more accessibility. I stream music through a paid subscription to help make a 2 hour daily commute more comfortable, and can understand how many other people would too.

This is not a post about the revolution of changing music purchasing habits, since I believe that will never happen, and also for most people it is not in their interest. This is more a post highlighting the importance of the process of a release in 2017, and how affected and careful selection of the order of distribution and the process adopted is vital to maximum financial benefit (which is much lower than decades ago).

I know many people still like buying physical copies and this platform still exists with vinyl reportedly being increasingly purchased, however making physical copies is costly to both the artist/label and consume, and while it may make your music appear more valuable and increase the lifespan of each release. I think it is very important to move with the modern trends in music consumption, whether that is Youtube, Spotify, Soundcloud etc.

The power is very much in the hands of the consumer in 2017, rather than the record labels.

I have recently had a gap in projects and been able to work on a new full length album of my own material, (somewhere close to Jon Hopkins meets Tycho.).

Previews of taster videos can be seen/heard here:

Alongside this I have also been fortunate enough to complete a remix for the brilliant Sinerider (Sun Sea Sky Productions), which you can stream for free here:

Sinerider’s latest release Seconds Minutes is a beautiful blend of warm sharp bass and soft smooth melodic elements combining to produce a really nice collection of electronic ambient music. As you can hear from the above links, I could see how this would translate and blend with the style of my downtempo electronic ambient work, although this remix ended up having a soft glitch focused feel.

The track has already racked up quite a few streams in only a few days since upload and the feedback has been incredibly kind and positive.

Please check out the track, and let me know what you think, and keep an eye out for my new release here:

Over the last few years, I have been working solely in Ableton Live 9 since investigating Ableton a little more.

In the very early days of my DAW use I was Cubase user just from first contact through education establishments, when studying at undergraduate level I was then sold on Logic Pro 7, the main reasons were its ease of usability, fast learning curve and comfortable GUI.

Having used Logic for years, and being very comfortable using it as my main DAW, I began to explore Ableton and found that without realising it I had completely left Logic Pro behind and barely ever opened the software.

As I am writing this I am still trying to specify what the exact reasons are for this, and it can be difficult to explain why you are sold on a different DAW/piece of software when there are many ‘core functions’ that all DAW’s hold.

I want to try and highlight some of the main pro’s and con’s of Ableton and the switch from Logic Pro X, and hopefully show off some of the main features and limitations.

Ableton Pro’s

Editing copies of audio clips on a single channel –Being able to edit copied versions of audio clips within one channel on the arrangement page. – In Logic if you reverse a clip in the same channel it will consolidate the file and you will no longer have the un-effected version (very frustrating when making risers, reversed snares, and generally fast editing).

Manipulating audio sounds in the clip – to transpose, reverse, or volume control the sound, quickly. – Logic’s audio editor can complete these functions but it prints the effect rather than allowing the user to move between settings quickly.

Fast automation recording/editing – Recording and editing automation is very easy and quick. By moving the parameter you wish to automate, Ableton recognises this and matches the movements in a new automation lane, this then has to be activate with the click of a plus button in the channel header to save the automation changes.

Session view launching– Ableton’s mainly selling point is the clip launching functions, something that does not exist in many other DAW’s, (at the time of writing only BITWIG which is a copy of Ableton). This is very useful for anyone wishing to playback/perform their music live with the support of a DAW.

Session view to compose– I have made some tutorials on this on my youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1HbEDZIIcWtOTwsDma2U7g). By clicking the master record button and launching clips in session view you can finally leave linear production behind and making more unique, original and less formulaic music as you discover new possibilities of structure and arrangement in real-time.

In clip automation –Clips can retain automation data in Ableton which means it can be controlled, duplicated and edited very quickly and easily, and also transferred to clip launching.

Max for Live – By incorporating Max for Live in Ableton Live, Ableton have allowed for an open development platform to exist in their product which allows many developers to create functions, effects, controllers and triggers that they would like to see exist in Ableton. Rather than users having to wait for Ableton to develop these from feedback which would be a terribly arduous job, it makes functions appear faster, the software continuously develop, and new possibilities arise quickly for Ableton Users.

Not Platform specific – I have always been concerned at the cost of replacing a MacBook should mine ever fail, despite the fact that I have always found them reliable operating systems. Knowing that If I did lose my platform, that I could move, or temporarily use a Windows machine is very re-assuring, it is also useful for collaboration and the number of users using this DAW. Logic is OS limited as Apple aim to sell more hardware through their software, and this means it is not always the first port of call for users or accessible for everyone.

Quick and easy shortcuts – Shortcuts/command keys are very quick and easy to integrate into the use of Ableton, one that stands out is the duplication controls for automation or regions of MIDI/Audio clips, very useful.

The Browser window – To save audio effects racks, templates and other presets you would like to use again, its very quick and easy to drag to and from the browser to save and re-call presets.

Groove Pool/Extract Groove – Similar to Logic’s Humanise function, although more specific and tailored more closely to the groove of another part, or song. It is very simple to extract a groove, save it in the grooves pool and add the groove to another piece of audio to give the feel of consistency across parts.

Ableton Con’s

Effects/VST’s – Logic’s effects trump Ableton’s every time in my opinion. Specifically, Space Designer, Sculpture, ES2, Stereo Imagers, Expanders. Apple are very good and making/implementing good solid virtual instruments, synths and effects plugins, both in sound quality and usability they are strong than Ableton’s.

Solo-ing – Solo-ing one channel only at a time is frustrating at times. To solo multiple channels in Ableton you need to de-activate all the sounds you don’t want to hear rather than simply solo the two or three channels you want which can be frustrating on larger projects.

No Mp3 bounce- No option to bounce straight to mp3 can be frustrating when preparing a track for a lower format quickly, maybe to send as a demo/rough version to someone or to upload it somewhere, it is quite annoying having to bounce to wav then convert the file in another program.

Routing –There is no environment window or platform within Ableton to build advanced routing. This is a very minimal complaint, and to be honest I rarely found users for Logic Pro’s Environment window, but i am sure there are some scenarios where having this ‘under-the-hood’ area would be of use.

Pink Automation Lanes – As far as I am aware there is no way to colour automation lanes in different colours, they all appear as fuchsia pink and it can become a little difficult to distinguish the different between them, again this is only a minor snag, and I am being a little harsh.

No session back-ups – If you accidentally save an A

These are just a few of the great things that have stood out to me about Ableton and also a few limitations.

I am sure there are many that I have missed or forgotten to mention so please comment below and add them, or just your thoughts on DAW’s in general.

Arpeggiators can be used on parts like beat repeat effects to double notes and create more interesting and complex patterns. This could also be achieved with synchronised delay effects processing, which can be nice for humanising16th note hi-hat patterns. (Maybe I’ll post a video of that soon).

Enjoy.

P.S:
Anyone who subscribes or shares the channel, website, twitter or instagram accounts will receive a free copy of my sample pack. Just share/subscribe and pm/email me and ill send you the folder.

Sometimes, adding Reverb to a sound takes away some of the impact of the sound and makes the sound much softer than we originally desired.

The technique in this tutorial involves duplicating and reversing a copy of the original sound and applying reverb to blend a second sound with the original to have the best of both scenarios (a spacious sound, with attack and impact).